Customer Reviews

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

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"Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats," by T.S. Eliot, is a book of poems about cats. The basis for the wildly successful musical "Cats," the book stands on its own as a delightful work of literature. The poems are accompanied by wonderful illustrations by Edward Gorey.

This book is hilarious and very enjoyable. Eliot's words leap and dance across the pages with a zany musicality. Gorey's accompanying artwork is whimsical and full of interesting details. Eliot has created some great feline characters: the fearsome Growltiger, dapper Bustopher Jones, Magical Mr. Mistoffelees, and more.

Yes, these poems are great fun to read. But if you are inclined to look closer and analyze them at a deeper literary level, you will find that each one is a masterpiece of poetic craftsmanship. Eliot uses a wonderful variety of meters, rhyme schemes, and various poetic effects. Each poem stands on its own, and together they form an effective artistic unity.

Also noteworthy is the very "English" flavor of the book, which Eliot achieves by spicing his poems with many references to English geography and cultural history. Highly recommended, whether or not you like cats.

OK, the musical has been going on and on for some time now, PBS has it on tape, but have you actually sat down and read these poems out loud? My daughter of 5 years watched Cats on PBS and loved it, and enjoyed hearing the poems as well for bedtime reading. TS Eliot as a childrens' book - well, why not? if not as well for yourself!

The poetry - well, there are many editions of the work the Andrew Lloyd-Webber made the most famous of Eliot's books. Gorey's illustrations bring the poems to life in a whole new way. This is a book for any collector, and a great introduction to one of the world's greatest illustrators.

If you like CATS, cats, poetry or reading this is the book for you. You will fall in love with the witty rhymes,simple illustrations, and lovable characters. I've never heard such clever rhymes in either Shakespeare or Dr.Seuss. I love the musical and the book!Even my mother loves this book!

If are a lover of cats, or have enjoyed the musical "Cats", or appreciate masterful poetry, or even a student of modernism, you will fall for "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" by T.S Eliot ("The Wasteland" "The Lovesong of J.Alfred Prufrock").

However, I especially recommend this book to parents who read to their children. Imagine an older and more conservative grand-master poet focusing his skills in rhythm, rhyme and content into a book of lyrics suitable for 5-year-olds. What you get is a book that not only has the sonority and imagination, combined with an appealing subject matter ( a diverse group of antropomorphized cats), for the children, but also is dense enough to be enjoyable repeated reading for the parent (Who of you still gets turned on by "Green Eggs and Ham"?), and challenging stimulation for the child.

If you have a son or daughter who loves cats,this book is a must buy!

Two of the most dour staid artists of their day have come together to bring you a work of absolute perfection. T.S. Eliot is well known as the author of, "The Wasteland" and other books of that ilk. So it is undoubtedly odd that he should have decided to write this book, "Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats". Likewise, the somber (though infinitely amusing) Edward Gorey is often attributed with dark Victorian scenes of murder and amusing death. Here he has laid aside his more macabre inclinations and produced a series of pictures featuring roly-poly kitties in all sorts of interesting arrangements. The combination is inspired. If you have ever seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Cats" then I pity you. You will find yourself unable to read a single one of these poems without the accompanying music jangling in your head. If, however, you don't find this a flaw, then by all means read this book. The poems are nothing if not charming. Where else will you find poetry suitable for children that contains words like, "succulent", "quorum", and "physiognomy"? And as for Gorey, his pen is without equal. The book is delightful, and kids (especially those who've actually seen "Cats") will like it very much.

Even though one of my degrees is in English lit and even though I've been a poetry lover for half a century or more, I've never been a great lover of TS Eliot, with this one exception. To enjoy this book you don't need to be a poetry lover. It helps if you're a cat lover, in which case you're bound to love this even if you think you hate poetry or TS Eliot style poetry.

This book's been beaten to death (in a positive way, mostly) by reviewers already, but I stumbled across it here and couldn't resist throwing in my own two cents.

T.S. Eliot, the master of poetry, is the real auhtor of the famed musical "CATS." Meet Macavity:The Mystery Cat, Mr. Mistoffelees, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, and many more in this witty book of rhymes. Also helps you learn the lyrics to many CATS songs!

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats is a volume of children's poetry first published in 1939. Eliot initially wrote the poems for his god-children, but this is no simplistic children's literature. T.S. Eliot was a master of his craft. The poems are simple stories about a variety of cats, each with a distinct personality and behaviors. The poems have a rhythm all their own and it matches the personality of the cat being described. While a poem about Bustopher Jones has an arch, airy tone, the poem about Skimbleshanks speeds along like the train he is on. This is an absolutely delightful collection.

It wasn't until recently, when I saw the musical for the first time, that I learned that this collection was the basis for the musical: Cats. Not only did the musical bring to life the cats described by Mr. Eliot, but I was surprised by just how many songs in the show took the lyrics directly from Eliot's poems. That is a mark of a great collection of poems: that when they are lifted into song, those poems can make a great musical with few changes. Whether you like poetry, or not, I would recommend this collection. I do not read a lot of poetry, but I loved this collection. Whether you like cats, or not, I would still recommend this book. The way Eliot tells about the cats, you would almost swear they were real people and not just an animal.

This book is a must have for anyone that has ever seen the musical, even if you hated it, this book will change your views. I've seen the musical by Andrew Lyod Webber based on this book dozens of times (On video) and this book thourally explains it, you get more out of it! If you've never seen "Cats-Now and Forever", you should still purchess this book due to the fact the poems are cute, humerous and cleaver. It would be a great book to read to your children!